Madam Speaker, with your permission, I will share my time with the member for Lévis.
I am pleased to rise today in the context of the first opposition day of the Bloc Quebecois in the 36th legislature.
As this is my first speech here since the House reconvened, I would like to thank the voters of the riding of Laval Centre for re-electing me to represent them in the federal Parliament. The Bloc Quebecois has the majority of Quebec members in this House. Together with the other 43 members of the Bloc Quebecois, I will defend the interests of Quebeckers, and especially those of my constituents in Laval Centre, with pride and determination.
I rise today on the motion tabled earlier by the leader of the Bloc Quebecois and amended by my colleague for Laurentides, which reads:
That this House condemns the attitude of the Government, which refuses to introduce in-depth reform of the legislation on the financing of federal political parties even though the existing legislation allows for a wide range of abuses.
With allegations of influence peddling within the Liberal Party and the government appearing in the headlines for over a week now, everyone in Quebec will recognize the importance of this motion.
If I may, to begin with, I will briefly review the facts. Last October 1, following up on a question asked in the House, the Solicitor General of Canada, the minister responsible for the RCMP, stated that he was not aware of an RCMP investigation concerning the fundraising practices in Quebec of the Liberal party of Canada. The Minister of Human Resources Development had to admit publicly, a few minutes later, that he himself had informed the RCMP of the allegations of influence peddling, and that this had been prior to the election call.
In the days that followed, we learned that the Prime Minister, his executive assistant, the President of Treasury Board and the Minister of Public Works were all aware as well of allegations involving a Liberal Party of Canada staffer and an assistant to the President of Treasury Board. In the next few days, will there be anyone left in the Liberal Party and in the government who will not be implicated in this dark story of Liberal Party of Canada fundraising?
We get the impression that we are watching a rerun of what happened to the Conservative Party in connection with influence peddling. Everyone will remember all the influence peddling scandals that surrounded the Conservatives when they were in power. At that time, the Liberals took delight in denouncing them. Now the Liberals find themselves in a similar situation, one that is equally uncomfortable and the morality of which is dubious and then some. Proof of that, the Prime Minister is not embarrassed to admit that his famous, still secret and rather nebulous code of ethics does not apply in this case of alleged influence peddling. This is corroborated by the hon. member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, who is himself responsible for organizing the Liberal Party in Quebec. The latter has even stated that the only code respected by the Liberal Party was the Criminal Code. That is at least some reassurance.
If the government cleaned up the rules regarding the financing of federal political parties, such a situation could not occur. In this House, only the Bloc Quebecois adheres to clear rules for financing, for it has chosen to respect the wishes of Quebeckers on the democratic financing of political parties.
This is the spirit in which the Bloc Quebecois abides by the Quebec Act to govern the financing of political parties. You will recall that the Quebec National Assembly passed this act during the first mandate of the Lévesque government.
According to many observers of the political scene in Quebec, it contributed to cleaning up the financing of political parties and as a result reduced considerably the influence of big corporations on political parties and governments.
Since its arrival in the federal arena, on several occasions the Bloc Quebecois has defended the principle of democratic financing of political parties. Already in 1994, my colleague for Richelieu moved a motion to the effect that only voters be allowed to contribute to political parties. We raised the issue again during the debate on Bill C-63, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the federal Referendum Act. It was a good opportunity, you might say a golden opportunity, to review the way federal political parties are financed.
However, every single amendment moved by the Bloc Quebecois in this regard was defeated by the Liberals as well as the Reformers.
I would like to give you some data to illustrate the fundamental difference an act such as the one in Quebec can make. Any given year between 1983 and 1990, 40% of the 500 biggest corporations in Canada and 35% of the 155 biggest financial institutions in Canada made a financial contribution to a federal political party.
Between 1974 and 1990, less than 2% of voters saw fit to contribute to a federal political organization in any one of those years. No need for an extensive analysis to see that, unlike individuals, businesses are very interested in funding federal political parties who flirt with power.
We can easily imagine that the influence of big corporations on the government far exceeds that of citizens. Nobody in this House will be surprised to learn that in 1995, not so long ago, the Liberal Party of Canada collected $7.51 million from businesses: for example, Nesbitt-Burns gave $88,424, Bombardier contributed $62,884 and the Toronto Dominion Bank, who was more restrained, gave a mere $40,234.
Bloc Quebecois members respect the rules prevailing in Quebec. Our party is funded by voters. In 1996 for example, the Bloc Quebecois received $1,159,685 from 17,030 voters; that means an average contribution of $68.08 for my colleagues from the other side who like accuracy so much. In my riding, Laval Centre, 345 individuals gave $19,141.25, for an average contribution of $55.50.
Today, it is with great pride that I thank these men and women who believe in the Bloc Quebecois and who democratically contribute to our party because they believe in democracy. These men and women financially support a party which expresses their hopes and not one which promises proximity to power in exchange for a contribution.
It is easy to see that the Quebec legislation makes place for the citizens by keeping corporations away from political party financing. This contributes highly to a more democratic political life and ensures healthier political practices than those we have seen at the federal level, particularly over the last few weeks.
I am sure you will agree with me: political virginity is very fragile. However, it seems this government is not even interested in restoring its own image. It is too difficult a task evidently. Secrecy has become an institution, with the approval of those who should be protecting democracy.
I regret to say that Canada, this marvellous country, is in very bad shape.